A phased array antenna may be integrated into a portion of the fuselage of an aircraft as part of a structural panel, such as a portion of the “skin” of the aircraft. For example, a phased array antenna panel may be integrated into the fuselage of an aircraft, and may be a load bearing portion of the fuselage. Such an antenna structural panel also may be integrated into, or otherwise applied to, wings, stabilizers, flaps, slats, doors, or other structures on an aircraft. The phased array antenna aspect of the panel can provide radio frequency beam forming and beam steering that can be used to provide directional communications, for example, or other functions such as radar detection and range finding.
A phased array antenna structural panel integrated into an aircraft may incur various impairments or damage to either its structural or electrical (e.g., radio frequency) functioning while the aircraft is in operation. As such, there is need for sophisticated repair systems and methods to restore the full functionality of the latest generation of multifunctional wideband antenna array structural panels.